April 9, 2026 Nolan Hughes

Kyle Troup ran away with the top qualifying position during the advancer round of the Surfside PBA New York Classic.

Troup averaged more than 238 to lead the field by 108 pins, tallying a pinfall of 5,250 (+850) through 22 games on the 38-foot Bear oil pattern.

For his efforts, Troup earned a bye through the elimination match play bracket’s Round of 24.

Chris Via, Darren Tang, Austin Grammar, Tom Daugherty, Patrick Dombrowski, Riley Woodard and Tomas Käyhkö round out the eight players who also earned a bye.

The ninth through 24th qualifiers competed in the opening round of match play on Thursday night at ABC Gates Bowl in Rochester, N.Y.

No match went the full seven games; in fact, only one match went to six games in the best-of-seven-games format.

AJ Johnson, Kyle Sherman, Shota Kawazoe, and Matt Sanders each swept their match, while Ethan Crouse, Kris Prather, and Thomas Larsen took care of their opponent in five games.

Alex Horton, who nearly missed the start of his match against BJ Moore due to a minor car accident, prevailed in six games.

The four winners of each quadrant of the bracket will advance to the stepladder finals, as will the highest-seeded qualifier who loses in the Round of 8 on Friday evening.

This places Troup one win from advancing to the show. He will face Kris Prather in the Round of 16.

If I do win that first match, I don't know what that's going to feel like, knowing I'm guaranteed on TV. I’ve never been in that situation before,” Troup said. “It definitely makes the route to TV easier, getting the number one qualifier. I feel good, but there's not really too much to celebrate. If I don't win my first match tomorrow, then all this was for nothing.”

The No. 3 qualifier Tang will face Thomas Larsen in his first match on Friday.

Tang won the 2021 PBA Bowlerstore.com Classic in Ohio, but struggled in subsequent seasons. He switched to a two-handed delivery during last season’s PBA Tour.

The 32-year-old said it feels good to be back in title contention.

“I think I'm finally getting a little more comfortable and more confident,” Tang said. “I had some good finishes the last two weeks, so that's been building up into what's happening right now. The ability has been there. Bowling well in regionals doesn't always translate out here for whatever reason. You kind of get freaked out or get the yips sometimes. But I'm really starting to trust my ability to play the game.”

Match play continues on Friday with the Round of 16 at 11 a.m. ET and the Round of 8 at 6 p.m. ET. Each match will be the best of seven games.

The winners of each bracket, as well as the highest-seeded loser in the Round of 8, will advance to the stepladder finals.

The stepladder finals will air live Sunday, April 12 at a special time of 1 p.m. ET on The CW.

All qualifying rounds will be livestreamed on BowlTV.

Round of 24 Results

No. 17 Kris Prather def. No. 16 Michael Davidson, 4-1
No. 24 Matt Sanders def. No. 9 Richie Teece, 4-0

No. 10 Ethan Crouse def. No. 23 Chris Barnes, 4-1
No. 15 Kyle Sherman def. No. 18 Nate Garcia, 4-0

No. 11 AJ Johnson def. No. 22 CJ Petrin, 4-0
No. 19 Thomas Larsen def. No. 14 Nick Pate, 4-1

No. 20 Alex Horton def. No. 13 BJ Moore, 4-2
No. 21 Shota Kawazoe def. No. 12 Brent Boho, 4-0

Round of 16 Matches

No. 1 Kyle Troup vs. No. 17 Kris Prather
No. 8 Tomas Käyhkö vs. No. 24 Matt Sanders

No. 2 Chris Via vs. No. 15 Kyle Sherman
No. 7 Riley Woodard vs. No. 10 Ethan Crouse

No. 3 Darren Tang vs. No. 19 Thomas Larsen
No. 6 Patrick Dombrowski vs. No. 11 AJ Johnson

No. 4 Austin Grammar vs. No. 20 Alex Horton
No. 5 Tom Daugherty vs. No. 21 Shota Kawazoe

Complete standings are available here.

Tournament Schedule

All times Eastern

Friday, April 10 — BowlTV
11 a.m. — Elimination Match Play - Round of 16 (best-of-seven games)
6 p.m. — Elimination Match Play - Round of 8 (best-of-seven games)

Sunday, April 12 — The CW
1 p.m. — Surfside PBA New York Classic finals

More information on the Surfside PBA New York Classic is available here.